Automatic fire alarm is designed to ensure that a fire is found in the shortest possible time and to notify in a timely manner that a fire hazard situation has occurred. The current direction in the fight against fire is not only the use of a variety of warning devices and fire detection sensors, but also the installation of an automatic fire alarm.
Types of fire alarms
According to their parameters, several types of fire detectors are distinguished:
- Light.
- Combined.
- Ionized.
- Smoke
- Thermal.
- Tame.
In addition, they are divided according to the type of action:
- Threshold - it is advisable to use such sensors only in small buildings with a small number of rooms.
- Addressable - these detectors accurately indicate the place of occurrence of a fire hazard situation by analyzing the situation.
- Address-analog - such systems are classified as “intelligent” because they are able not only to independently assess the threat that has arisen, but, if necessary, to reprogram the sensitivity threshold on the detectors, as well as transmit a signal about the fire source, without stopping the fire alarm.
The latest automatic fire alarm is a set of sensors designed to determine the level of smoke, a sharp jump in temperature in the building, and an infrared signal is able to find a source of open fire. The complex also includes lines or devices for transmitting data, alerts and the center of the entire system - a specialized computer that is designed to make decisions about putting into operation devices located inside and outside the building. When the complex includes automatic fire extinguishing systems, the electronics decides on the appropriateness of their use.
It becomes clear that an automatic fire alarm has the ability to significantly increase the safety of a building, and its installation is able to solve the problem of timely detection and elimination of a fire source.
Maintenance of APS systems
Maintenance of automatic fire alarms is carried out by special companies that mount it at the enterprise. This service includes both a primitive cleaning of the system from dust, which tends to stuff into sensors, as well as more complex procedures. MOT is designed to ensure the smooth operation of each detector individually and the entire system as a whole.
Conventionally, all maintenance activities can be divided into several categories:
- The specialists who installed the automatic fire alarm should provide training for those responsible for fire safety and, by agreement, personnel. Such training will help to properly operate the APS and will not disable it due to someone’s negligence.
- All malfunctions and inaccuracies in the work must be timely addressed, ongoing, emergency and preventive repairs are carried out. These works can take place both on the basis of a contract for warranty service by the company that installed the system, and in its absence, by third parties.
- Be sure to carry out scheduled maintenance.
Please note that all these works can only be performed by organizations that have a license from the Ministry of Emergencies for such actions.
All institutions in which there is a massive concentration of people are required to conclude such an agreement.
Maintenance procedure
All automatic fire and security alarms must be checked in a timely manner, and service is carried out within the time strictly specified in the contract, which cannot be less than established by law.
During maintenance, it is mandatory to check:
- the strength of the fasteners and the general external condition of the system;
- the sensitivity of the sensors and the guarantee of their operation, as well as ensuring the uninterrupted reception of a signal on the central console;
- good insulation and general condition of flexible joints.
Such maintenance must be carried out in order to:
- ensure further uninterrupted functioning of the APS system;
- check the general technical condition;
- timely identify any problems with the system;
- eliminate the adverse effects of exposure to harmful factors.
Depending on the reason why the service is carried out, it can be regular and extraordinary.
An extraordinary check of an automatic fire alarm is carried out:
- after false positives;
- in case of system failures upon the occurrence of conditions for operation;
- after restoration work carried out in the APS system;
- according to the statement of the head of the enterprise where this automatic fire alarm is installed.
Fire Alarm Prevention
They also try to carry out the necessary preventive work during the maintenance process.
When preventing APS systems, they clean the external elements and surfaces of all devices from contamination, lubricate them if necessary, strengthen the joints, and replace parts of the system that have expired.
APS troubleshooting
In cases when some malfunctions are detected during the preventive maintenance, maintenance, or during inspections, it is necessary to immediately repair the automatic fire alarm or replace a failed part. If a defect is discovered by the owners of APS, they are obliged to inform the company involved in servicing this system as soon as possible. Solving any problems on their own is unacceptable.
Execution of maintenance work
All measures required to be carried out during the maintenance are prescribed in the regulations, in the preparation of which it is necessary to take into account the work recommended by the manufacturers of APS, as well as the requirements contained in the acts of the fire inspection.
On the basis of an internal order, a person should be appointed responsible for meeting the deadlines for maintenance and preventive maintenance, as well as for maintaining operational logs. All actions taken during the performance check of the APS, as well as troubleshooting, are subject to mandatory registration in special journals, which at the first request of fire inspectors must be presented to them for review.
Responsibility for violation of the terms of maintenance of automatic fire alarms
MOT must be carried out on public warning systems in cases of need for evacuation.
If malfunctions in the notification lead to loss of life or significant damage and it turns out that the maintenance was carried out inopportune or not at all, then this will become a sufficient basis for initiating a criminal case against the head of the enterprise. These requirements apply only to fire systems - the maintenance of all other warning systems is determined by the head, and the maintenance of security alarms is determined by the norms of private security.
Design Standards for Automatic Fire Alarm
Both the financial costs of its installation and its efficiency depend on the correct design of the APS system.
The project is compiled individually for each object and is based on the requirements of the safety standards, PUE and GOST standards, therefore it takes a fairly long time and is carried out in several stages.
First, the object is studied: its area, layout, design features, etc., then the amount of necessary work and the required equipment are determined. Before drafting, areas of increased danger for fire are noted in order to give them increased attention.
Only after that they proceed directly to the design and preparation of documentation, which will be needed in the future to confirm that all fire regulations have been observed at the facility.
Only companies that have special access to the development of project documentation and are members of a Self-Regulatory Organization have the rights to compile a draft APS system.
All design standards are regulated by applicable law, and the project itself is a diagram of the entire detection, warning and automatic fire extinguishing system.
APS system operation requirements
It is mandatory to appoint a person responsible for maintenance, as well as for conducting regular inspections of visible parts of the APS system.
In addition, the operation of an automatic fire alarm includes compliance with certain requirements:
- it is forbidden to whiten or paint over any part of the system;
- at the beginning of repair work in the building, notify the fire department about this;
- obstruction of fire detectors and passages to the central apparatus is prohibited;
- daily check the on state of the alarm, and if there is no day-night switch, then at the end of the working day;
- in cases when the alarm is activated with the remote control, it is necessary to control the arming of the facility by telephone.